


What You Think it Oughta Be

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: The Ballad of a Dove [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Forced Bonding, M/M, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 07:49:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7524466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Z'sheef," Partner says, voice bright and sharp, "sound the alarm. The paladins are coming."</i>
</p><p>Help is coming. Lance just doesn’t know it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What You Think it Oughta Be

**Author's Note:**

> This one's a bit of a doozy in terms of length. I hope it delivers!!
> 
> As always, a huge thank you to [Matt](http://corgiss.tumblr.com/) for the drive-by beta, and all remaining mistakes are my own. [Reblog from here!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/post/147618937473/fic-what-you-think-it-oughta-be) Fic and series titles from [If I Die Young by The Band Perry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NJqUN9TClM)

The sensation comes to Child in the dead of sleep, a distantly familiar feeling of _warm_ and _home_ and _blue_ spreading over his senses. He sits bolt upright in bed, something in him reaching and aching for the sensation, even as his bond with Partner anchors him here.

Partner stirs beside him. "Child?" she asks sleepily. "What is it?" Child sends her the image and sensation of blue that had come over him. She's immediately alert. "The lions? They're coming?" Child looks up again, red smoothing in with the blue and leaving him briefly conflicted. But Partner is the only safe thing he can remember, so he turns back to her and nods. Her face goes hard. "Then we must sound the alarm." She gets to her feet, pulling on her clothes and her armor in quick fluid motions before carefully helping Child get dressed as well.

Partner leads him out the door, and they make it to the main control room.

"Z'sheef," Partner says, voice bright and sharp, "sound the alarm. The paladins are coming."

The Galra in the control room snaps his head around, surprise on his features. "What? The paladins? Are you sure?"

"Completely. They're here for the boy."

The Galra nods. "I will sound the alarm. The child?"

**The child will go with her.**

Child flinches, retreating instinctively closer to Partner. She reaches out and squeezes his hand, but the Torturer just laughs.

**I see the bond is stronger than even I could have anticipated.**

Anger flashes through the connection to Partner, but Child can tell it isn't directed at him, so he ignores it, lets it flow over him like water. "Indeed, K'tok."

 **Then you will take the child into battle with you. He will be our greatest weapon against the paladins.** The Torturer's eyes dart toward him, and he casts his eyes down and away, afraid to meet its gaze. Even without looking at it, he can feel the smirk in its words. **They won't hurt him, and that may be our saving grace.**

"I'm sorry?"

**We are not battlestation equipped, General. You and the child were to be returned to the central fleet once the bond stabilized, but with how unstable the child was, we elected to keep you here longer than initially intended. If the paladins have found us here, then we are doomed if we do not have an ace up our sleeves.**

The anger is back in the bond again, stronger this time, and Child flinches away from it. Partner doesn't seem to notice. "You intend to send my bonded to be slaughtered."

**Hardly, General. As I said, they will not harm the boy.**

"I've heard the tales, K'tok. The Red Lion in particular has grown more brutal since we took Child from their ranks. There's no telling what they are willing to do to take the Empire down, including kill one of their own."

**If they are willing to kill one of their own, they are not the paladins the Emperor believes them to be.**

Partner looks at Child, her eyes bright and worried. He tilts his head to the side, unsure what she's asking for. There's a question slipping through the bond, a feeling of separation and space between them, and he shakes his head frantically, reaching out for her hand. He pushes a feeling of togetherness and closeness toward her, a feeling of standing tall at her side no matter what, and she blinks a few times before the confusion clears. "He'll need a weapon," she says, eyes not leaving Child's.

**And a weapon he shall have.**

\----

The blaster in Child’s hand is weighted strangely, and it takes him a few tries to figure out how to hold it easily and naturally. Once he does, though, it's simple enough to settle beside Partner and follow the lead of her gentle mental nudges.

The alarm is still blaring loud and clear around them, and several of the Galra that were initially stationed in the heart of the ship with them have scattered, though for what purpose Child doesn't know. Partner just keeps a hand wrapped loosely around Child’s wrist while the Druids and the other Galra gradually slip away from where they'd initially been stationed around them. "We stay here, Child," she says softly when he pushes the question through the bond. "We stay here and we wait for them to come to us."

They've been alone for some time when the door finally comes crashing open again, a body clad in red and white bursting through the door. The intruder has a sword in each hand, both held at the ready, and Partner immediately gets to her feet, her blaster aimed right at the intruder.

"Stand down," she says sharply. "You're outnumbered."

"Like hell I am," the intruder snarls. He leaps into action, his red and blue swords flashing as he deflects the shots from Partner's blaster, and he darts quickly around the room, edging ever closer to them. Child holds his own weapon in his hand, but is so mesmerized by the intruder that he doesn't even think to raise it to attack.

At least, he doesn't until the intruder knocks Partner to the floor. Child stares down at her, frozen in shock and fear. The intruder doesn't seem to notice, shoving the blue sword into Child's free hand and then grabbing him around the wrist.

"Come on," he says, starting to run and pulling Child along with him as he goes, "we've got Blue waiting for you. We just have to make it to the loading bay and then--"

A loud screeching sound cuts the intruder off. He releases Child's wrist, stumbling and almost falling as he whips back around to face Child. Child wastes no time in turning back around and running back to Partner. The sound follows him back to her side, where he drops both the sword and his blaster. The sound cuts off the second his fingers touch her cheek. She looks up at him, eyes distant, but quickly coming back into focus. "Where's the paladin?" she asks sharply, and Child reaches for his blaster, turning back toward the intruder and leveling it at his chest.

When Child turns back to him, though, the intruder's sword arm is lax at his side, and his eyes are wide and betrayed in a shell shocked face. "Lance…?" he asks.

Something deep in Child's chest resonates at the word, and the same sensation of _blue_ and _home_ and _warm_ that had woken him so many hours before purrs in his belly. It's a familiar sensation, but he can feel it worming into the space where Partner's soul lives, and he remembers what Partner told him before this all started.

_If you feel them trying to split us up, Child, you fight it. You fight it with everything you've got. Because we're the most important thing each other has right now, and we can't afford to let the paladins separate us._

Child lifts his blaster a little higher, aims right at the intruder's chest, and fires.

The intruder deflects the blast as though without thinking. "Lance, what… what are you doing?"

There's a low whine coming from somewhere, but Child ignores it, focusing on the intruder. But his fingers won't stay on the trigger and he can't seem to keep the blaster level and even though he wants to do right by Partner, he can't seem to do what she so desperately needs him to do. He turns to look at her, lowering his blaster as he does, and she reaches out, one hand coming to rest gently on his face. "It's alright, Child. You just stay here and stay safe. I'll handle him."

"Like _hell_ you will! Lance, what in God's name are you doing? We're here to get you out, don't you understand?"

The ache in his stomach is back, hot and cold and strange all at once, and Child stares at Intruder, trying to understand what's going on, why he hurts so much, why everything feels _wrong_ whenever he so much as looks in Intruder's direction. But his head hurts and his chest hurts and everything feels wrong and broken open.

"Lance. Please."

Child makes the mistake of looking up at Intruder again, and the whining sound gets a little louder. Something in his chest wants to just crawl over to Intruder and make a home at his side, and for an instant Child almost thinks of giving in.

But then Partner puts a hand on his shoulder. Child looks up at her instinctively. "Just be patient, Child," she says softly. "I'll get rid of him, and then things will be fine."

Intruder gives an unholy scream as he charges forward, sword raised high. He brings the blade down on Partner's blaster, but she deflects it easily, letting loose two shots that Intruder counters just as easily. Child can only watch, all the energy gone from his body, as Partner and Intruder trade blows and blasts, dancing around the room. He loses track of time as they move, his eyes drifting again and again to Intruder and the sheer desperation in his movements. It isn't until, with an almighty shout, he slams the base of the sword into the side of Partner's head that Child realizes Intruder might actually have the skill to beat Partner.

Does have the skill, if the way she's gone completely still on the ground is any indication.

The low whining sound starts up again, and Child finds himself crawling slowly to Partner's side. He reaches out, his fingers brushing against the skin of her cheek. He can feel her soul, hard and cool, but present, and it relaxes him immeasurably.

At least, it does until Intruder reaches out for him and tries to lift him to his feet. Child wastes no time in swinging his blaster up to press up underneath his chin.

Intruder stares down at him, eyes wide and filled with an emotion Child can’t identify. Then his features shift into a dark, sharp glare. "You won't shoot me. You don't have the guts."

Child's finger twitches on the trigger, eager to prove Intruder wrong. But as much as he wants to, he can't seem to do the deed. He fights and fights and fights but he can't get his finger to move, and just as he thinks he might find the strength, the base of Intruder's sword comes out of his blind spot and connects with the side of his head. Blackness sweeps up over his vision until all that is left is peace.

*~*~*~*

Keith stares down at where Lance is lying prone on the ground at his feet. He's still breathing heavily from his fight with the Galra--the one that Coran had identified as the last one left in Lance's vicinity--but she isn't what's got him concerned. What's got him concerned is the way Lance had started shrieking when Keith had tried to drag him away from the temporarily stunned Galra and the way he'd rushed back to her when Keith had dropped his hand in shock. It certainly doesn't bode well for getting him back to Blue, and even worse for getting him all the way back to the castle. Still, he reaches for Lance's prone form, lifting him into his arms. He cradles Lance against him carefully, hoping that the fact that both Lance and the Galra are unconscious is enough to allow him to get Lance out of here.

Keith doesn't even make it ten steps away before Lance starts shaking, and by the time he's ten feet away from the door, the shaking has become full-fledged convulsions. It's to the point that Keith's afraid Lance might hurt himself, and, though it goes against his every instinct, he makes himself turn around and walk back over to the Galra, settling Lance back down on the floor beside her.

Reluctantly, he reaches up to activate the comm in his headset. "Guys?"

"Problem, Keith?" Shiro's breathing heavily down the line, and Keith winces, wishing he didn't need to ask for help. He knows the three of them are giving it their all holding down the fort near the lions without him, and the second to last thing he wants is to draw resources from that fight.

But the very last thing he wants is to leave Lance behind when getting him out was their mission objective, and if he needs to draw support away from the front lines to get Lance out of here, he's willing to do it. "Kind of. I need Hunk."

Pidge swears. "Come on, Keith, you know he's our best defense against these Galra. Are you sure I can't help?"

"Not unless you've suddenly acquired the ability to lift two hundred pounds of Galra dead weight."

" _What_?" Pidge shouts, and Keith flinches.

"Look, I'll explain when we get back, but first, I need--" he cuts himself off when the door to the room slams open and another Galra comes sprinting in.

"Karala!"

Keith lifts his sword, standing between the approaching Galra and the two bodies at his feet. "Back off!"

"Like hell I'm going to, you don't know what you've done!" The Galra shoves past him, dropping to her knees beside the other Galra. "Karala? Sweetheart? Come on, baby, talk to me."

"If experience is any teacher, she's going to be out for another thirty minutes at least," Keith says sharply.

The Galra swears. "This is not how this was supposed to go down. Child was supposed to destroy all of you, not be taken down by one alone!"

Keith frowns. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The Galra gets to her feet. "Your paladin friend! He wasn't supposed to be taken down like this! I was supposed to have time to figure out how to break the bond!"

Keith immediately zeroes in on that. "Bond? What bond?"

"Keith?" Shiro calls through his helmet. "Do you still need backup over there?"

"Negative, Shiro. I may have another solution. I'll let you know when I'm enroute." He turns back to the Galra. "What bond?" he asks again.

"The Emperor insisted we bond Karala to the paladin to keep him under control. It wouldn't have been a problem, except that with how broken he was, they couldn't be separated by more than about two hundred feet at a time while conscious. Less if one of them was subdued."

Keith forces himself to ignore the more damning part of the Galra's words and focuses on the explanation instead. "That's why I couldn't carry Lance out of here."

The Galra nods. "I've been working on a way to break the bond, but I need more time."

Keith looks at the Galra, trying to make sense of what she's saying. Then he takes a calculated risk. He flicks off the comm in his helmet and says, "Come with us."

The Galra turns and stares at him, eyes sharp and calculating. "Elaborate."

"You need time, and my guess is the Empire isn't giving you much. I need Lance back in one piece, and I can't afford another rescue mission if this one fails. Come with us, and if you can figure out how to fix whatever the hell happened to Lance and your friend, then we can protect you."

The Galra's already nodding before Keith finishes reasoning it out. "I'll need my books."

"We can go get them after we drop Lance and your friend off in Red."

"Alright. We drop them off, grab my things, and then we get the hell out of here."

Keith frowns, startled. "I'm going to admit, that went over better than I was expecting it to."

The Galra glares at him. "Karala is the only reason I haven't defected already. She's a General, and refused to leave her post, even after things started getting worse than either of us was comfortable with."

The statement gives Keith pause. Is he really willing to argue in favor of bringing a Galra General on board the castle? It could put everything they're fighting for in jeopardy. And for what? Lance just tried to kill him a few minutes ago; does Keith really even want _him_ back in the castle? It's a jarring question, and Keith feels his whole world tilt on its hinges as that thought solidifies. _Lance just tried to kill him._ Nothing is ever going to be the way it was. Is it worth risking the universe for a lover that isn't even the same man anymore?

"For god's sake, kid, we're running out of time. You can put me in a damn cell once we get back to your ship if you have to, but you were right; you're my only chance at getting Karala back. You can do whatever you need to do to feel safe, just please. Help me save her."

Her certainty doesn't quite right Keith's whole world, but it helps. Wondering if having Lance back is worth potentially risking the universe's safety hadn't been a good question. It had been a stupid question, and as his certainty of that fact grows, Keith knows he's overthinking this. Lance is the most important person in his life, and after almost two Earth years without him, the last thing Keith wants to do is give up the first real chance he's had at having his lover back.

"Alright," he says, nodding sharply. "You grab her, and I'll grab Lance. Follow me back to the ships, and then we'll go get whatever you need." He starts heading toward Lance's discarded bayard while he flicks the comm back on and steels himself for Pidge's yelling. "Guys, I've got Lance, but there's been a complication. I need you to trust me, and I need you to not shoot the Galra that are with me."

"Wait, you're bringing Galra with you?" Hunk asks. "I really don't think that's the best--"

"Do you trust me, Hunk?" Keith asks as he hooks Lance's bayard to his suit.

There's a moment of silence, and then a sigh. "Of course I trust you, Keith."

"The trust me on this. It's bring the Galra or leave Lance, and if you try to make me leave Lance, you can be damn sure I'm going to stay behind too."

"Fine," Pidge says sharply, "but we're keeping the Galra in a cell once we get back to the castle."

"Agreed," Shiro adds, and Keith nods.

"That's not going to be a problem. We'll be there in a few minutes." With a nod to the Galra, Keith lifts Lance into his arms again. "You ready for this?" he asks as she lifts the other Galra into her arms as well.

"As I'll ever be."

Keith nods. "Then let's do this."

They don't speak as they run, both of them just struggling to keep up a decent pace with their loads. When they make it to the loading bay where the other paladins are fighting, Hunk lays down covering fire that gets the four of them safely behind the paladins' defenses.

Shiro's all sharp edges and anger when he sees that Keith has brought back with not one but two Galra, but he nods when Keith tells him they're not leaving yet. "You gotta trust me, Shiro," he says desperately, "it's worse than we thought."

"We all trust you, Keith. You just have to be sure that this is what you want. They've had him for two years. He may not be the man we all remember."

"You're right about that," Keith mutters, but he ignores the concerned look Shiro is giving him and hops aboard Red instead.

The Galra is less than pleased when Keith insists on handcuffing her friend to the pilot's seat in Red.

"Look, I brought her back here with you, but I can't risk her being less amenable to the situation than you are. You said it yourself, she didn't want to defect. I'm not going to risk her taking my friends out while we get your things."

"Fine, whatever, we don't have time to argue about this. I'm just gonna run back over to my quarters and--"

"I'm not letting you out of sight!" Keith snaps back. "The last thing I need is you running back to the other Generals and getting them down here to take out my team. No, either Shiro's going with you, or I am."

"You want me to take the Champion on a run through a cruiser that's on high alert? No thanks. I'll take you instead."

Keith nods. "How long is it going to take us?"

"A few hundred ticks, tops. You've got good legs on you, and if you're coming along I'll only need one trip."

"Got it." He follows her back out Red's mouth and calls to Shiro over his shoulder. "Give us ten or fifteen minutes; we'll be right back."

"Just get a move on," Shiro says, his voice tight. "We don't have a lot left to give."

Keith takes off at a run after the Galra. He tries to keep track of the turns the two of them are making as they rush through the corridors of the cruiser, but she's navigating with such speed and ease that he loses track within a few dozen ticks. He keeps up with her, and when she screeches to a halt in front of a door, he does the same. The door opens with a touch of her hand, and she sighs in relief.

"Good," she says softly, "they don't know anything yet." She darts into the room, grabbing six reference books and a journal and handing them all to Keith. She herself goes for a medical case, but Keith shakes his head.

"If you're bringing chemicals aboard my ship, they're going to be in my possession, not yours."

She hesitates for only a split second before she nods sharply. "Fine. Whatever it takes. Not like I have much choice at this point." She holds the case out to him. "Just. Just don't jostle it too much. We lose what's in this case, we might not have a chance in hell of saving either of them."

The sincerity gives Keith pause, but he doesn't waver. He takes the case and she takes the books, and they start their trek back to the loading bay.

Their luck in only encountering a few Galra so far seems to be shot before they're halfway back to the loading bay. They run into what looks like half a battalion as they round a corner, and Keith doesn’t bother trying to bite down the curse that slips past his lips. Keith never thought he'd be grateful for the last six months of training with Lance's bayard, but it ends up being their saving grace, allowing him to cut his way through the Galra forces with a good deal more ease than he'd have managed without the experience of double wielding. He doesn't bother to check whether the case has been damaged in the fight, instead waiting for his Galra companion to take the lead again before running after her.

They make it back to the other paladins, and Shiro meets his eyes from across the wide open space. "We good, Keith?"

Keith glances at the Galra beside him. She nods. "We're good, Shiro."

"Alright. Pack it up, then, paladins," he yells at Pidge and Hunk, "we're going home."

It's a tight fit in Red's cockpit with Keith, Lance, and his two Galra companions, but they make it work. Lance and the first Galra are still unconscious, but the other Galra is hovering at Keith's shoulder, eyeing him nervously as he gets situated. Keith chances a glance over his shoulder at her as he revs up Red's engine. "It's a little late for second thoughts." he says wryly.

"And I'm hardly having any," she snorts. "Just. Thank you."

Keith stares. "What?"

"Thank you. For giving me a way out. You may not realize it, but you've become more than just a thorn in the Empire's side."

Keith blinks. "Good to know, I guess."

He turns back to his controls, not listening anymore. While he works, she reaches out, fingers ghosting over his shoulder plates. "You're the red voice, aren't you?"

"Hmm?"

"The red voice the Child always asked Karala about. It's you, isn't it?"

Keith's fingers still over the controls. "I don't know. I… I don't know." He looks over his shoulder at her, the question in the back of his mind suddenly feeling like a glaring oversight. "Why are you helping me?"

The Galra rolls her eyes. "The same reason you trusted me. Because I love her, just like you love him."

Keith swallows. "Tell me your name."

"Zheerun."

"And hers?"

"Karala."

Keith swallows again, his heart going tight at the affection in Zheerun's voice. "I'm Keith." She nods back at him. "Alright," he says, turning to face forward again. "Alright. Let's… let's do this." She nods again, and he sets Red flying out into the black, following the rest of the paladis toward the castle. "Let's go home."

\----

Coran and Allura are livid, but Keith ignores them, marching down to the cells with the two Galra, carrying Lance in his arms. The rest of the group follows him down, and Shiro obligingly opens the cell when Keith inclines his head toward it. The whole team watches in astonishment when Zheerun walks right in, Karala leaning heavily against her, and sits down dead center in the cell.

Keith only hesitates for a second before walking in himself, and setting Lance's prone body on the ground beside them. He pushes Lance's bangs aside, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead. "I'll be right back, baby," he says softly. "I'll be right back." Then he looks up at Zheerun. "You need all of them?"

"Yes."

"You know they're not gonna let me give you the box."

"I know. The books will suffice for now."

Keith nods, letting his eyes linger on Lance for a moment longer before he gets to his feet and steps out of the cell, placing a hand on the control panel so it slides shut behind him. When he turns around, everyone is in varying states of shock. Coran's jaw is actually hanging open. "What?"

Pidge recovers first. "You do realize you just locked Lance in a cell with _two Galra_ , don't you?"

Keith blinks. "Well, yeah. I didn't really have much of a choice. Shiro insisted on the high security cell, and the other one would put Lance too far away from Karala."

"Karala," Pidge says, their voice dry. Then their voice goes sharp with anger. "Why the _hell_ do you know her name?"

Keith sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. He glances over his shoulder and Zheerun. "You wanna explain so I can go get your books?"

She nods. "Of course."

"Thanks." Keith heads out past the team and back toward Red's docking bay. To his surprise, Allura follows him. He offers her only a raised eyebrow in question.

"Your words made it clear what your concerns are... and why you brought them along."

"Did it now?" he asks, a little sarcastically.

"Indeed. Keith…" she swallows, then reaches out for his elbow, stilling him in his tracks. "Keith, I'm so sorry."

Keith grits his teeth, his hand twitching with the need to reach for the matching rings that hang on the chain around his neck. Instead of reaching for them, he clenches his fist and forces himself to keep his hands at his sides. As long as Lance is still so far gone, Keith doesn’t deserve to even think about what he wants those rings to mean. He doesn't say anything, pulling out of Allura’s grip and resuming his walk down to Red. He reaches his girl, and she leans down, opening her mouth obligingly. He presses a grateful hand along her maw as he steps inside. When he makes his way back out, the books and case in his arms, Allura is still waiting for him.

"Are you certain you don't want a hand?"

Keith feels an unwarranted smile spread across his face. He holds the stack out, and she grabs four of the reference books off the top of the stack, smiling back. "Thank you," he says softly.

Allura just smiles wider.

When they make it back to the cells, Coran is pacing back and forth while Pidge interrogates Zheerun and Hunk stares into the cell. Shiro's leaning against the glass of the cell, and Keith can feel the intensity in his stance from here.

"So you're saying that the bond--"

"Pidge," Hunk says sharply, catching sight of Keith. "Give it a rest."

"It's fine, Hunk," Keith says quietly. "Whatever they want to know."

But Pidge just steps away, scratching at the back of their head awkwardly. "Sorry, Keith. We didn't realize--"

"It's fine," Keith says again, a little more sharply.

"It's not fine." Keith looks up at Shiro as he turns away from the cell. "Keith, this is _anything_ but fine."

Keith sighs. "I know. But I have to put on a brave face if I'm going to make it through this. Especially with…" Keith shakes his head. "Open the cell for me, would you, Shiro?"

Shiro obliges, and Keith takes the books from Allura before walking into the cell and setting them down in front of Zheerun, who takes them with a tight smile and a nod.

As he stands to leave, Keith spares Lance a glance just in time to catch him stirring. Keith freezes, eyes wide as he stares down at Lance, desperation and hope stealing his breath from his chest. "Lance?" he asks.

Lance opens his eyes, his gaze finding Keith as though laser-guided. Lance stares at him for a moment before he sits up quickly, wincing as he does so. His eyes find Karala, and he skirts around Keith, moving toward her instead.

Keith's chest aches.

Zheerun eyes him pityingly, but Karala only seems to be focused on Lance. "It's okay, Child. It's okay."

Lance whines high in the back of his throat, and the ache in Keith's chest worsens.

"It's okay, hey, just breathe. Please, just breathe."

Lance leans in closer against Karala, his face nestled in the crook of her shoulder. He goes on whining, and Karala reaches up, pressing her hand over his face, hiding Keith from his line of sight.

"I'm right here, Child. I'm right here."

Lance lifts a hand, tangling his fingers in her hair. He lets out a quiet sigh, and all the tension pours out of his body.

Keith gives himself a moment to let the reality sink in. Then he gets to his feet and storms out. No one follows him this time, and the rings at his sternum feel like a lead weight dragging him to the bottom of the ocean. He has Lance back, and he'd been so sure that that would be enough. For years, he'd known that if he just had Lance back in his arms, everything would be okay. Now, though.

Now he’s not sure how he’s going to survive having Lance back. Or if he can survive it at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so things aren't _better_ yet, but at least they're not worse?
> 
> [Come hang with me on tumblr!!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


End file.
